A digital sign on Interstate 74 ahead of a bridge construction
site advises motorists to use both lanes and to take turns at the
point of merger. Iowa-bound drivers should expect only one lane on
the I-74 bridge to be open as workers continue a bridge-washing and
rehabilitation project until October. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY
TIMES)

I-74 'ZIPPER'

Today's lesson: When to merge on Interstate 74

BARB ICKES

A digital sign on Interstate 74 ahead of a bridge construction
site advises motorists to use both lanes and to take turns at the
point of merger. Iowa-bound drivers should expect only one lane on
the I-74 bridge to be open as workers continue a bridge-washing and
rehabilitation project until October. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY
TIMES)

If everyone would please take their seats, we can get
started.

Today's lesson: When to merge into a single-file line for a lane
closure and when to use both lanes until the last minute.

Let's all open our minds to Page 1 of "Getting It Right On
Interstate 74" (by A. Harry Mess).

We've all been there, sitting hostilely behind the wheel in a
single line of traffic that appears to span the entirety of the
Midwest. We glance nervously at the gas gauge (only half a tank!)
when a car whizzes past in the right lane.

Shut the front door!

We spot a pickup ahead, straddling both lanes of traffic to
prevent that jerk from getting to the front of the line, and we
silently thank the pickup driver: Way to go, Buddy!

Not so fast.

There's a new sign in town, and it may just change
everything.

The Illinois DOT has placed a message board on Interstate 74 in
Moline, approaching the lane closure for work on the bridge. It
states: "Use both lanes. Take turns at merge."

That's crazy talk, right? Everybody knows the proper way to
handle a lane closure is to merge into the good lane as soon as
humanly possible.

Evidently not.

We're so inadequate at navigating lane closures, the DOT is now
spelling it out for us on large lighted signs: "Use both lanes." It
might as well say, "Use both lanes, Dummies."

But that's cool. We can take instruction.

Jan Amyette, of Bettendorf, is a retired Moline business owner
who has had more experience with lane closures on the I-74 bridge
than she cares to count.

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"I've battled that bridge for 26 years," she said. "It's so
exasperating. I remember feeling angry at those people using the
empty lane. Even though I would love to sneak over into the other
lane, I feel guilty."

Aha! Therein lies our problem: We are too polite. We would
rather spend an extra half hour in a single line, cursing the
passers, than risk the crooked eye from a stranger in another car.
The fix for this is fairness: If everybody takes a tooth in the
so-called "Zipper" system, everyone (supposedly) wins.

"This is something I've seen done in Pennsylvania on a project,
and we've talked about it over the years," explained John Wegmeyer,
project implementation engineer for Illinois DOT. "We're trying to
eliminate long backups and trucks and other vehicles trying to
straddle the lanes."

The Zipper won't work in every lane closure, he said. The one on
I-74 right now is ideal, because the off-ramps are closed, so it
won't slow motorists who are trying to exit the interstate. Plus,
using two lanes will cut the line in half, reducing cluster
problems at interchanges, such as Avenue of the Cities in
Moline.

"Once people get used to it, it seems to work well," Wegmeyer
said. "As long as traffic alternates at the merger, it should go
more smoothly."

I'm no psychiatrist, but I play one in this column. And I feel
certain we would all be benefit emotionally if we would take our
good manners to the front of the line.